Coating apparatus



Oct. 11, 1938. H. T. SCOTT- COATING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 16,1934 5 Sheets-Shet 1v CRWMWI H. "r. SCOTT COATING APPARATUS OriginalFiled Oct. 16, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 11, 1938. H. T. SCOTT COATINGAPPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Oct. 16, 1954 FI I.

Oct. 11, 1938. H. T. scoTT COATING APPARATUS ori inalriled Oct. 16, 19545 Sheets- Sheet 4 WWW/mm Oct. 11, 1938.

Origifial Filed Oct. 16, 1934 H. T. SCOT'II" 2,133,214

COATING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I m l I,

Patented Oct. 11, 1938 COATING APPARATUS Henry T. Scott, Toledo, Ohio,assignor to The American Paper Bottle Company, Toledo, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Original application October 16, 1934, Serial No.748,563. Divided and this application October 29, 1936, Serial No.108,258

12 Claims.

This invention relates to coating apparatus and particularly toapparatus for applying coatings to containers primarily intended for thepackaging and dispensing of liquids.

In Patent No. 2,047,891, issued July 14, 1936, is disclosed a papercontainer which, while well adapted to serve as an envelope forcommodities of various kinds, is particularly suitable for the packagingof liquids. It is fabricated of relatively stiff paper and is in theform of a tube of rectangular cross section with its upper and lowerends sealed. Where liquids are to be charged into the container prior tosealing it is essential that the container in its entirety be given acoating of some substance which will render the same liquid proof sothat no leakage may subsequently occur. The coating material which I mayemploy may vary considerably, or in accordance with the characteristicsof the materials which are to be packaged. Where food products are tobe'packaged, particularly milk or milk products, it is highly desirablethat the liquid proofing coating substance should be of such characteras to remain neutral in the presence of the liquid contents of thepackage while at the same time performing its function of preventingcontact with the paper of the liquid contents of the container, therebypreventing softening of the walls of the container and also occupyingany minute openings in the paper itself or between the joints of thecontainer and thereby preventing direct leakage.

The mechanism which comprises the subject matter of the presentinvention has been designed especially to receive from a containerfabricating machine a container of the'type shown in my patent abovereferred to, to move this container through a bath of molten paraffin todrain the excess parailin therefrom after issuing from the bath, andfinally to eject the container from the parafllning apparatus and toposition the same so as to be readily engageable by a conveyor mechanismfor transporting to other apparatus for charging, closing and sealing.The container as it comes to the paraflining unit has its bottom closedand top open. It is introduced into the bath of paraffin bottom endforemost so that the molten paraflin has access to the interior of thecontainer only after the open end of the container has been moved belowthe surface -of the paraffin bath. As the container fills 'with paramnthe air which is contained therein is displaced by the paraffin, theincoming stream of paraffin running immediately to the bottom of thecontainer and the level of the liquid rising rapidly from the bottomtoward the open top thereof thus insuring that all contained air isexpelled. After the container has been completely submerged it iscarried through the pa'raflln bath in such manner that all of itssurfaces are thoroughly exposed to the par'aihn, the container not beingpositively held by any of the carrying mechanism but being sotransported in a carrier that it may have limited movements relativelyto the carrier in all directions and may freely respond, to a limitedextent, to the surging movements of the paraflin bath brought aboutbythe operation of the mechanism. Each individual paper fiber of thecontainer, both upon the outer and inner surfaces thereof is so exposedto the coating substance that the container as it issues from the bathis completely and thoroughly coated with the impregnating substance.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No.748,563, filed October 16, 1934.

While primarily the coating apparatus which I disclose by way of exampleis designed for the handling and treating of paper containers of squarecross-section, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that, bymaking changes in the design and arrangement of the component elementsof the invention, the apparatus may be readily adapted for the coatingof containers which vary widely in shape, size and materials ofconstruction. I

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a view of the coating apparatus taken from the side, many ofthe parts being shown in section and others having been removed for thepurpose of more fully disclosing interior details;

Figure 2 is a view of the apparatus as it would be seen from the right(Figure 1) certain of the operating'parts being shown in elevation andcertain parts being broken away to show the underlying elements;

Figure 3 is a" view of theapparatus-as from the left (Figure 1) certainof the-parts being shown in section and others partially broken Figure 4is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a container receiving unitwhich forms part of the apparatus; I I

Figure 51s a section on line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a section on line 'I| of Figure 3; Figure 8 is a section online 8-8 of Figure 6;

and e Figure 9 is a container carriers.

perspective view of one of the The apparatus is designed for the rapidhandling of a continuous series of paper containers,

receiving successive containers presented to it, passing thesecontainers through the paraifin bath and effecting the dischargethereof. It is primarily intended to form portion of a rapidly operatingautomatic machine in which blanks are rapidly detached from a pack,erected into tubular form, closed at one end, coated, charged, closedand sealed. It may of course be made to have any desired capacity andrate of operation.

The casing or housing in which the bath of paraffin is enclosed andwhich also houses the operating ports of the coating mechanism isindicated at III, the lower portion of this housing being especiallydesigned for the retention of a substantial body of molten paraflinwhile the upper portion may be of lighter construction. A removablebottom plate is indicated at H and this plate may be taken off wheneverit is desired to clean the apparatus. The normal parafiin level isindicated by the letter L and it will be understood that additionalquantities of paraiiln will be introduced from time to time to replacethat which passes out in the shape of surface coatings upon thecontainers which pass through the apparatus. A conveyor chain isindicated at |2 this chain being endless and is supported upon threesprockets l3, l4 and I5 one of which, as for instance the sprocket l5,may be intermittently driven by any suitable mechanism. A guide l6serves to support the conveyor chain at one point where it changes thedirection of its travel. Mounted upon certain of the individual links ofthis chain are container carrying elements I8 and there are a relativelylarge number of these elements, only a few being illustrated. Carriersl8 are closely spaced and the chain isso driven that each carrier isadvanced from its container receiving position, indicated at B in Figure1, to its container discharging position, indicated at D, by a series ofstep by step movements. One of the carriers is shown in perspective inFigure 9 and it is shown in this figure at the angle which it makes withthe horizontal when the conveyor chain link to which it is secured ismoving in a vertical path. It comprises essentially a five-sided.box-like member with .somewhat greater interior dimensions than theexterior dimensions of the container, indicated at C in chain lines,which it is to house and to transport through the bath. Any suitablemeans may be utilized for securing the rear wall of the container to achain link and the rear wall of the carrier, which faces the open side,is also provided with a series of apertures |9 through which paraffinmay enter the carrier and which also permit the introduction of ejectingrods for effecting the discharge of the container, in a manner to behereinafter more fully described.

The other two larger walls of the carrier, indicated at 20 and 2|, areimperforate and the wall 20 is also curved or made concave, as shown,while the wall 2| is preferably flat. The end walls of the carrier haveapertures 22 formed therein to permit the free entry and escape ofliquid paraffin. That end of the carrier which is lowermost at the timethat the container to be coated is introduced therein, is provided withan inner central transversely extending rib 23 which acts as a limitingstop for the movement of the container toward that end of the carrierduring the paraflining operation, thus preventing the end flaps E of thecontainer from striking the end of the carrier and safeguarding theseends against injury from such contact.

The carriers shown to the right (Figure 1) descend in the operation ofthe device and are empty. As each carrier reaches the position of thecarrier indicated at B the motionof the conveyor chain is temporarilyhalted and a container is introduced into the same to occupy theposition shown in Figure 9. The means for introducing the container willnow be described.

A container receiving chute is indicated generally at S, this chutebeing vertically disposed to receive containers successively droppedinto the same by mechanism which is not illustrated. The chute includesoppositely facing stationary guide plates 30 and oppositely facingswinging guide plates 3|. Plates 3| are secured at their lower ends tothe upstanding side members 32 of a U-shaped frame generally indicatedat 33. Frame 33 has integral therewith a laterally extending cylindricalbearing member 34 which is rotatably supported upon a cylindrical stud35 mounted in the end of a supporting frame member 36. The frame,therefore, together with the plates 3|, may swing or oscillate about theaxis of stud 35 from the position in which it is shown in Figure 4 tothe position in which it is shown in Figure 5. Assuming that a containeris dropped into the chute with open end lowermost, as indicated at C inFigure 4, the swinging motion of the movable portion of the chute,including the plates 3| and frame 33, effects the movement of thecontainer to the position indicated at C in Figure 5, the closed bottomof the container being then lowermost and the container occupying aposition inclined to the horizontal.

To effect this swinging movement, the frame 33 is operatively connectedto a drive shaft'31, the

within a camway formed within a cam 46 mounted upon shaft 31. Rotationof cam 46 therefore results in oscillation of the frame from its uppervertically disposed position to its lower inclined position in timedrelation to the other operating parts of the mechanism.

The movements of the container positioning frame just described arecoordinated with the movements of the conveyor chain and, when acontainer has been removed to the position indicated at C" in Figure 5,it is in register with the carrier B within the housing In, and also inregister with an aperture formed in the wall of the housing. It istherefore in a position to be moved laterally inwardly of the housingand into the mouth of carrier B which is positioned to receive it. Themeans for effecting this inward movement includes the pusher 40'slidably mounted upon the frame for horizontal movement, the pusher 40'having the same inclination to the horizontal as have the aperturesformed in the housing and also the carrier B. For effecting slidingmovement of the pusher it is connected to an intermittently oscillatinglever 4| by means of link 42', lever 43, and link 44', the lever 43'being mounted upon a fixed pivot 45'.

The means for oscillating lever 4| is not illustrated, but it will beunderstood that any suitable means may be employed tooperatively'connect this lever to shaft 31 and to produce oscillationsand the frame 33 and blades 3| are swung to vertical position to receivea-following container. The conveyor chain is actuated and as the carrierjust changed moves downwardly, an unloaded carrier coming into registerwith the container charging opening formed in" the housing wall andready to receive the next following container. The carrier B withinwhich a container has just been placed will be moved downwardly into theparaflin bath, thence horizontally toward the left (Figure l) andfinally upwardly until it occupies the position D. 1

As may be seen from an inspection of Figure 1,

one of the bottom edges of thecontainer C first reaches the level of theupper surface of the paramn and the bottom of the container is lowermost during the time that the container is actu-- ally undergoing theprocess of immersion so that any air originally within the same'isdisplaced by molten paraffin, flowing upwardly and making its escapefrom the paraffin bath. Eventually the carrier turns around the axis ofsprocket l3 and assumes a horizontal position. In this movement the openside of the carrier is turned downwardly and, when the carrier hasreached a completely horizontal position, as indicated at B, is facingdirectly downwardly, the container either resting against that wall ofthe carrier which has heretofore been designated the rear wall, andwhich is connected to the associated chain link, or resting against thecurved guide plate 41 and being moved along this plate by the action ofthe carrier.

When the carrier reaches the position indicated at B the container whichit carries is about to emerge from the parafiin bath with its closedbottom uppermost so that the parafiin will drain rapidly from itsinterior. Eventually, and after a further series of step-by-stepmovements of the conveyor, the carrier with its coated container reachesthe position D (Figure l) and may then be ejected from the housing. Forthe purpose of bringing about this ejection, an ejecting mechanism isprovided which includes a plurality of parallel ejecting fingers 50supported at their rear ends upona vertically disposed plate 5| thelower end of which is slidably supported upon guide rods, one of whichis indicated at 52.

Each finger 50 is in alignment with an aperture formed in a perforatedguide plate 53 and also in alignment with the perforations l9 formed inthe rear wall of carrier D when thatcarrler has reached the dischargeposition shown in Figure 1. Slide 5| is operatively connected by meansof a link 54, lever and link 56 with the upper end of oscillating leverll previously referred to and will be reciprocated forwardly andrearwardly when lever 4| is actuated. When reciprocated forwardly or tothe left (Figure 1), the fingers 50 after passing through theperforations in guide plate I3 and through the registering perforationsI! in the rear wall of the carrier D will contact with the inner wall ofthe container 0 housed within the carrier and will thrust this containeroutwardly through an aperture formed in the housing to permit itspassage and into a rocking frame which at that instant is positioned toreceive it. The rocking frame 80 ineludes a member 6| one end of whichis provided with two hubs 62 and 63 rotatably mounted upon member 6|.

. 66 lying intermediate hubs 66 and 6! of frame member ii. Aspringxpressed detent I! carried by hub it normally hasits outer endprojectin within shallow recess 68' formed in hub 62 and hence hubs 62,63 and 68 wlllnormally rotate in unison about the axis of stud 04..Secured to the i ends of frame members BI and. respectively are theguiding and retaining blades II which are container holding members,having inturned outer ends 10' to insure retention of thecontainer asthe entire frame as an entirety swings downwardly.

As will be seen from Figure 6, a container just discharged from thehousing will occupy the position C its open end being lowermost. It willbe understood of course that as the container is ejected from thehousing, the receiving frame just described is in register with theaperture formed in the housing. A rotatory movement is then transmittedto the stud 64 by mechanism which is illustrated in Figure 3 and is seento include a segment 1| fixed on stud 64, the teeth of this segmentmeshing with the teeth of a segment 12 pivotally supported at 13' upon aframe member. Oscillation of segment 12 is effected by means 'of link 14the lower end of which is connected to a lever 15 carryinga roller 16which is-in engagement with a cam 11 mounted on shaft 31.

Two cushioning springs 18, adapted to be engaged by one or the other. ofabutment 19 respectively on link 14, dampen shocks incidental to theoperation of the mechanism just described, the adjacent ends of thesesprings bearing against a common central spring abutment 80.

By reason of the fact that the hubs of frame members 6| are notpositively connected to the oscillating driving studs 64 but are onlyreleasably connected to this stud through the intermediary of the detent61, it is not possible for breakage to occur should for instance acontainer come to rest after having been only partially introduced intothe rocking frame and between the container supporting blades 10,portion of the container for instance still overlying 'the edge of thedischarge aperture formed in the housing. Should the rocking frame,including members GI and 65, start downwardly with a container in suchposition as this the opposition to the movement of frame member BI andits associated blades 10 offered by the container will he sufiicientlygreat to cause the detent 61 to be cammed into its receiving recess andout of recess 68, thus permitting rotation of hub Stand frame member 65relatively to hubs G2 and 63 and frame ration of the two elements of thetransfer frame will stop the machine and remove the jammed containerwhereupon the frame member 6| may :be again swung to its normal relativeposition with respect to frame member 65, the detent 61 again enteringrecess 68 and releasably locking the hubs together.

After a container discharged from the housing The operator perceivingthe sepain a normal manner has been lowered to the position in which ithas been indicated at C in Figurge6 it is to be removed from between thearms Ill and moved forwardly into a position to be engaged by aconveyor. This movement from between arms lli is effected by means of anextractor 82 which comprises an angular member the lower horizontal endof which is secured to a reciproeable member II and the vertical portionof which lies parallel to the housing wall and, in its rearmostposition, lies within a recess formed within the housing wall. Member 83is guided in its reciprocating movements by means of parallel guides oneof which is indicated at 84 and to the under side of this member issecured a rack 85 the teeth of which mesh with the teeth of a gear 86fixed upon a shaft 81. Shaft 81 is rotatably supported in a bearing 88and carries at its outer end a pinion 89 the teeth of this pinionmeshing with the teeth of a rack 90 slidably supported for longitudinalmovements and carrying a roller 9| which lies within a camway formed inthe revoluble cam 82 also fixed on shaft 31. Revolution of cam 82therefore results in reciprocating movement of slide 83 and hence causesthe extractor finger to move outwardly between blades 18 at the propertime and to remove a container which may be standing between theseblades.

As mentioned previously, the container will then pass on to a suitableconveyor which is not il lustrated. The transfer frame including framemembers GI and 65 is enclosed save for a container outlet port formed inthe forward wall thereof and within this housing is located a heatingunit, in this case including the conduit 93, for a heating medium suchas steam, as it'is desired to maintain the paraffin upon the containerwalls in liquid condition at this point. Also mounted upon this housingis a steam chamber 94 for maintaining the interior temperature of thehousing at the proper point.

The various mechanisms described are of course actuated in a desiredtimed relationship, a container to be coated being inserted into anempty carrier at the same time that a coated container is being ejectedfrom the housing.

I find it to be preferable, in fabricating containers to be subsequentlycoated with a coating substance such as paraffin, to utilize a paperwhich is porous in order that the paraffin may penetrate into theinterstices thereof. Hard papers can be rendered liquid-proof only withgreat difiiculty and the coating is often nonuniform over the surface ofthe article made therefrom. To insure that the paper used has thenecessary mechanical strength and stiffness,

and at the same time the necessary porosity, a somewhat thicker sheet isused than would be necessary were the paper harder. A paper of the solidbleached sulphite type having a weight of approximately .028 pound per.001 inch thickness per square yard has been found to be satisfactory.Kraft paper may also be used and also combinations of kraft and sulphitepapers. In any event, paper of the desired porosity will have aconsiderable nap comprising projecting 'fibers or filaments and it isdesired that all of these projecting fibers be thoroughly coated dm ingthe coating operatio As the containe enters the prafiin bath, themoisture and air be ween the fibers of the paper is expelled by theaction of the parafiin. It is essential that the spaces left vacant bythe exclusion of moisture and air be filled with coatingmaterlal so thata continuous leakproof coating is provided. As the container enters theparafiin bath, its lowermost side wall is first presented to the liquidparaffin in such a position that the air and moisture in the pores ofthe paper may pass freely upward. Following this, the then uppermostside wall will be-so presented and immersed. The bottom also is disposedat such angle that the discharge of moisture and air therefrom isfacilitated. As the container progresses further into the parafiin bath,to the horizontal position, the sides of the container which werepreviously vertical, become horizontal and the air and moisture lockedin the pores of the paper may escape more easily from these sides.Further movement of the container through the parafiin bath isaccompanied by rotation thereof so that the two remaining sides are inan approximately horizontal position facilitating the escape of the airand moisture. The movement of the container through the bath is suchthat the container is rolled within the bath to present the severalsides of the container successively to the horizontal or at least causesthem to assume substantial angles to the vertical. This is desirableinasmuch as the moisture content of the paper, as well as the minutequantities of air caught in the interstices of the fibers, are morereadily dislodged from horizontally disposed paper surfaces than fromvertically disposed paper surfaces. Thus particles of moisture and airexpelled from the lower portion of a vertically disposed paper sheetwill tend to re-attach themselves as they move upwardly or downwardly,as the case may be, along the surfaces of the sheet. When the sheet ishorizontally disposed, or disposed at a substantial angle to thevertical, any particles of moisture or air once discharged will rapidlyseparate themselves from the sheet by moving vertically upwardly ordownwardly and will not have opportunity for 'such re-attachment. It isimportant, therefore, that the mechanism be'of such character that thecontainer as it passes through the bath causes each of the flat sidesthereof, at one time or another, to be disposed either horizontally orat a substantial angle to thevertical.

It will be appreciated that, due to the fact that the container hasparallel opposing side walls, when it is disposed in a truly horizontalposition, air expelled from the upper surface of the lower side wall,and some air expelled from the vertical side walls may, upon rising, beintercepted by the upper horizontally disposed side wall and trappedagainst the lower surface thereof. Likewise water expelled from theupper side wall and vertical walls will descend and be intercepted bythe lower horizontal side wall. Because of the further rolling motionimparted to the container, however, any such intercepted water or air isnot permitted to remain upon or cover any'spot upon which it isoriginally deposited, but will be caused to flow laterally so that atone time or another every portion of the entire area of each wall of thecontainer is fully exposed to the bath. My invention. contemplates theprovision of any suitable means for passing paper articles successivelythrough a bath of parafi'ln and by means of which the positions of thearticles are so changed during their progress through the paraffin thateach of .the several sides of each article are at one time or anotherdisposed either horizontally or at an angle which so departs from thevertical that the moisture and air particles may freely rise or falltherefrom, depending upon the specific gravity thereof as compared withthat of the bath. The carriers which I employ for the purpose ofimmersing the containers are sumciently large interiorly to permitlimited axial and transverse movements of any container housed thereinduring the coating operation. The containers will, to a considerableextent, oscillate within their respective housings in passing throughthe bath due to the surging of the paraflin bath itself, produced by theaction of the carriers which are successively entering the bath upon oneside and successively leaving it upon the other side of the machine. Theloose retention of the containers within the carriers permits theparaflin to reach all surfaces of each container, both the interior andthe exterior surfaces, and the slight movements which each containermayhave within its carrier are sufficient to insure the complete andthorough coating of all the projecting fibers. It is highly importantthat these fibers be coated as, in the absence of such protectivecoating upon a fiber, it will absorb moisture from the air or moisturewith which it comes in direct contact and will transmit this moisture tothe wall of the container, thereby softening the same and decreasing itsmechanical strength. It is, of course, of equal importance that the airand moisture between the interstices of the paper fiber of the containerwalls themselves be expelled and :replaced by paraflin. Completeimpregnation of. the fibers themselves by paraifin is not desired, butthorough continuous coating is essential.

With containers fabricated of paper such as have been described, it hasbeen found that an immersion of substantially ten seconds produces thedesired effect upon the walls thereof, the air and moisture beingexpelled and the projecting filaments or fibers being completely coatedwhile at the same time mechanical strength is maintained. Longerimmersion oftentimes results in production -of containers of decreasedstrength due to impregnation of the fibers. When the paper is immersedfor approximately ten seconds, as aforesaid, the temperature of theparaflin is preferably maintained at approximately F. It will beappreciated that with different weights and types of paper the time ofimmersion will'vary and also that the temperature to which the paraflinhas been heated will have a bearing. In any case, the object will be toimmerse the paper for a sufficient time to insure that its moisture'andair content is expelled, the projecting fibers thereof coated, and theinterstices of the paper wall filled with paraffin. Continued immersionafter these results have been achieved is detrimental.

For the purpose of maintaining the paraffin at the desired temperature,suitable heating elements are incorporated within the housing l0. Such aheating element is indicated generally at I00 and is seen to comprise asuitable tortuous conduit through which steam or other heated fluid maybe passed. Gas heated or electrically heated elements may, of course, besubstituted for that shown. Also, and for the purpose of heating theupper portion of the mechanism enclosed within the housing, a secondheating unit m is provided, this unit in the present instance alsocomprising a tortuous conduit for the circulation of steam. All parts ofthe conveyor, all of the carriers, and in fact, all parts enclosedwithin the housing, are maintained at all times at a temperature abovethat of the melting point of paramn so that any paraffin which iscarried upwardly out of the bath upon the conveyors will remain liquidand fall again to the bath without congealing and thereby clogging themachine.

The time of immersion of the containers may be varied in various ways,as by regulating for instance, the speed of the conveyor. Inasmuch asthe coating unit may comprise a portion of a complete automatic machine,however, it is not desirable to vary its operating speed and hence thetime of immersion of the containers may be conveniently regulated byvarying the depth of the paraffin bath, lowering the level of the uppersurface of the bath resulting in a decreased time of immersion, andraising of the level of the upper surface resulting in an increased timeof immer- The lowermost surface of the container.

the container with the carrier, permitting the paraflin to have maximumopportunity to escape between the lower wall of the container and theconvex inner surface of the then bottom supporting Wall of the carrier.The duration of the draining of the containers may be approximatelyeighteen seconds, but at any ratesufficientl y long to permit theflowing off of all free flowing parafiin.

When a freshly immersed container reaches the discharge position, inwhich position the carrier in which it is housed occupies the'positionindicated at D in Figure 1, its walls are substantially free of excessparaffin, the draining operation being substantially completed. A slightfurther drainage occurs, however, after ejection of the container fromthe carrier and during inversion of the container by the mechanismpreviously described and which is illustrated in Figure 6. Thus, afterthe container has been again positioned vertically with closed endlowermost, as indicated at C in Figure 6, there is a slight downwarddrainage along the vertical walls and this paraflin when latersolidified, stiffens, reinforces and renders entirely leakproof thebottom section of the container, where the pressure of any liquid laterintroduced is naturally the greatest.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

-1. An apparatus for coating tubular flat sided paper containerscomprising a closed compartment the lower portion of which constitutes areceptacle for a bath of molten coating material, heating means in saidcompartment above the surface of the paraffin, for maintaining thetemperature of the atmosphere within the compartment higher than that atwhich the coating material solidifies, an endless chain within thecompartmcnt and guided to have an elongated vertical reach, and articlecarriers mounted on the chain and adapted to be submerged in the bath,carriers emerging from the bath being carried upwardly along saidvertical reach of the chain and through a heated atmosphere to a pointof discharge, whereby perfect drainage of the containers is realized.

2. In 'a coating apparatus, in combination, a

carrier member substantially rectangular in transverse section andhaving an open side for the introduction of articles to be retainedthereby, the side wall opposite said opening having av minor aperturefor the insertion of apusher element to eject any article within thecarrier, and

a conveyor upon which the carrier is mounted.

3. In a coating apparatus, in combination, a carrier member comprisingan elongated box-like structure for the reception of a fiat walledtubular container having opposed parallel flaps projecting from one endthereof, said carrier having a part projecting inwardly from one endwall thereof to engage a container intermediate the end flaps thereofand thereby prevent the flaps from engaging said end wall.

4. Coating apparatus comprising in combination, a receptacle for a bathof liquid coating material, an elongated boxlike carrier memberpolygonal in transverse section and adapted to envelop and retain acontainer of similar polygonal cross-section but having a slightlysmaller crosssection than the carrier member so as to have limitedmovement therein, said carrier member being provided with apertures forthe inflow and outflow of liquid, and means for moving the carriermember into, through and out of the bath.

5. Coating apparatus comprising, in combination, a receptacle for a bathof liquid coating material, an elongated box-like carrier memberpolygonal in transverse section and adapted to envelop and retain acontainer of similar but smaller polygonal cross-section, said carrierbeing open at one side and having means at its ends to limitlongitudinal movement of a container therein, and means for moving thecarrier member into, through and out of the bath.

6. In a coating apparatus, in combination, a carrier member comprisingan elongated boxlike structure for the reception of a flat walledtubular container, one wall having a convex inner face upon which acontainer may rock when the carrier member and container are immersed.

7. In an apparatus for coating elongated paper containers, each havingan open end and a closed end, comprising a receptacle for a bath ofmolten paraffin or the like, a casing above the receptacle and havingspaced apertures therein for the insertion and discharge of containers,mechanism adjacent the container insertion aperture for successivelyreceiving containers, p sitioning them with their major axes inclined tothe vertical and passing them through said insertion aperture, and aconveyor enclosed by the receptacle and casing for receiving, while soinclined, containers successively inserted through said insertionaperture, lowering them into the bath while so inclined, lifting thecoated containers from the bath and presenting the same to the dischargeaperture, the conveyor being mounted for movement in a plane and havingmeans to support the containers received and carried thereby at an angleto said plane.

8. In an apparatus for coating elongated paper containers, each havingan open end and a closed end, comprising a receptacle for a bath ofmolten paraflin or the like, a-casing above thereceptacle and havingspaced apertures therein for the insertion and discharge of containers,mechanism adjacent the container insertion aperture for successivelyreceiving containers, positioning them with their major axes inclined tothe vertical and passing them through said insertion aperture, aconveyor enclosed by the receptacle and casing for receiving, whilesoinclined, containers successively inserted through said insertionaperture, lowering them into the bath while so inclined, lifting thecoated containers from the bath and presenting the same to the dischargeaperture, the conveyor being mounted for movement in a plane and havingmeans to support the containers received and carried thereby at an angleto said plane, and means within the casing for successively ejectingcoated containers through said discharge aperture.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8 in which said mechanism includesmeans for receiving containers with axes vertically disposed and bottomend uppermost and revolving the container until the bottom end islowermost.

10. The combination set forth in claim 8 in which a device is positionedwithout the casing and adjacent the container discharge port forsuccessively receiving containers and depositing the same, bottom endlowermost, upon a container receiving element.

11. In a coating apparatus, in combination, a receptacle for a bath offluid coating material, a plurality of article carriers, each beingconstructed to retain a tubular fiat sided open ended paper containerwith the axis of the container at all times in substantial coincidencewith the axis of the carrier, and means upon which said carriers aremounted and by which they are successively when being lowered into thebath, being so disposed that the tubular container carried therein isinclined with its axis at an angle to the horizontal and inclined to theplane of the endless path in which the carriers are moving, whereby allof its flat surfaces are angularly disposed with respect to the surfaceof the bath during the immersion thereof.

12. An apparatus for coating tubular flat sided paper containerscomprising an endless chain, guide means therefor whereby the chain issupported for movement in a plane, a plurality of box like open sidedcontainer carriers mounted on the chain, each being so formed and soattached to the chain that a paper container supported therein will haveits flat sides disposed angularly to the plane in which the chain issupported, and stationary means for preventing escape of containers fromthe carriers during a portion of the travel of each carrier.

HENRY T. SCO'I'I.

